When the army started to deploy for Desert Shield -- he would have been in his 60s -- he was getting frustrated that he wasn't being recalled."

MADISON,
Alabama - Joe Curry fought in two wars and volunteered for a third. And he kept
all 18 of his medals, including three bronze stars, pushed away in a cardboard
box.

The
one big consolation Lynn Curry was given when her husband died last month was
she finally got to brag about his war service.

Though
Joe Curry served with great distinction during a career that spanned World War
II and Vietnam, he never talked about his combat experience, she said. It took
a lot of prodding to get him to say a little about the time he earned a Bronze Star with Valor: After an enemy rocket attack, he risked his life
to extinguish a fire threatening to explode ammunition stores in Vietnam.

His
humbleness was both admirable and maddening to Lynn Curry, especially when he
was chosen to be on the first Tennessee Valley Honor Flight to visit the World
War II Memorial in 2007. The Huntsville Times did write-ups on many of the
attendees, but Joe Curry refused interview offers every time.

"That
really miffed me. But that's just the way he was. He didn't brag on anything he
had ever done," she said.

Joe
Curry was just 17 when he volunteered to fight in WWII. He served on a gun crew
on a liberty ship, bringing critical supplies to both the Atlantic and Pacific
theaters as enemy submarines routinely sank other ships in his convoy.

He
completed his 32 months of active sea duty in December 1945. After that, he
tried a variety of odd jobs, all of which failed to inspire him. When the
Korean Conflict was under way, he joined the Pennsylvania National Guard in
hopes of finding more combat action, but his unit was sent to Germany instead.

Joe
Curry remained in the armed forces from 1950 till his retirement in 1975 as a
chief warrant officer, third grade. He completed three tours in Vietnam,
performing dangerous bomb disposal duties.

"Of
course it never left his system," one of his two sons, Paul Curry, said of his
father dedication's to defending the country. "When the army started to deploy
for Desert Shield -- he would have been in his 60s -- he was getting frustrated
that he wasn't being recalled."

Joe
Curry never stopped believing Vietnam was a just cause, Paul Curry added, and
he always felt bad for how it ended when the United States pulled out.

Sandee
Curry, the lone daughter of Joe Curry, said her father was patriotic through
and through, and he believed strongly in military service.

"If
my dad ever got a chance to meet any of my young boyfriends or even just male
friends, he would suggest the military to them," she said, noting her brother,
Paul, served in the Georgia National Guard. "My nephews, especially the oldest
one, Connor, who is 10, are all in awe of their grandpop. We think Connor
especially will go into the military, but all three are fascinated by what
grandpop did."

Joe
Curry didn't have much going for him early in life. Born in 1925, he grew up
during the Great Depression being raised by a single mother. He never forgot
his humble beginnings and made it a point to give his children the father he
never had, his wife said. Through it all, he remained "painfully honest," and
never felt sorry for himself or acted like he deserved more.

After
getting to deliver much-needed milk cows to Cuba in WWII, he fell in love with the
island nation and dreamed of returning with the family. Lynn Curry said she
urged him to go through Mexico and Canada. But her husband patently refused to
break the American embargo.

"He
wouldn't go against the state department. He would not knowingly break a law,"
Lynn Curry said.

And he had a clean sense of humor, Paul Curry added.

"He was a man who laughed very easily and often," his son said. "He had an
uncanny ability to recall and tell jokes. Usually PG-13. He was never vulgar."

Joe
Curry earned college degrees from Calhoun Community College and Athens State
after his military career ended. He completed his professional career as a
Redstone Arsenal civilian writing lesson plans for the ammunition department.

On
Feb. 5, 2014, he succumbed to the effects of Alzheimer's, which he battled for
seven years. But even as the disease ravaged his mind - he had to go to Tutt
Fann State Veterans Home near the end - he never turned angry and maintained a
sense of humor, his wife said.

His
medals are now in a framed case hanging in the Curry's den. He is gone, but his
wife vows Joe Curry's memory will live long.

"He
can't stop me from bragging about him now," she said.

Kay Campbell, who coordinates this feature, welcomes your
suggestions for Life Stories from North Alabama. Know an ordinary person,
recently deceased, who lived an extraordinary life? Please contact Kay at KCampbell@al.com or 256-532-4320.